A novel second-generation HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF183_0107) identified among men who have sex with men in China

Objective: This study aimed to report a novel HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF) identified among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Design: Viral sequences were isolated from MSM patients, and the recombination and evolutionary histories of this CRF were elucidated through phylogenetic and Bayesian analyses. Methods: Near full-length genomes (NFLGs) and partial genome sequences were amplified from RNA extracted from plasma samples of three HIV-1 seropositive MSM in Heilongjiang Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using FastTree v2.1.9, and recombination analysis was performed using Simplot v3.5.1. The emergence time of the novel CRF was estimated by Bayesian evolutionary analysis using BEAST v1.10.4. Results: Two NFLGs and two partial genome segments were successfully obtained from three MSM participants. This novel CRF was characterized by 12 mosaic gene segments, comprising 6 segments from the CRF01_AE cluster 4 and 6 segments from the CRF07_BC cluster N, and thus was designated as CRF183_0107. The estimated time of origin for the CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC components within CRF183_0107 were approximately 2009.2 and 2012.5, respectively. Conclusion: A novel second-generation HIV-1 recombinant, named CRF183_0107, was identified within the MSM population in China. This CRF exemplified the recombination events occurring between the CRF01_AE cluster 4 and the CRF07_BC cluster N during 2009-2012.